GI Resistance Resources and Info

Welcome to the Washington Peace Center's GI Resistance Page!!!

The Peace Center is working with the D.C. chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Civilian-Soldier Alliance on a GI Resistance and Support campaign to do outreach to local active duty soldiers, an effort going on in cities across the country.

War Resistance Today

In the past few years, tens of thousands of service members have resisted illegal war and occupation in a number of different ways—by going AWOL, seeking conscientious objector status and/or a discharge, asserting the right to speak out against injustice from within the military, and for a relative few, publicly refusing to fight.

According to IVAW, 10,000 soldiers deserted in the first four years of the Iraq war. According to the Army, the number of deserters has increased every year of the war: 3,301 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army in 2006, compared to 2,543 in 2005, and prosecutions for desertion has likewise increased. Many of the soldiers speaking out have already served one or more tour in Iraq or Afghanistan and are refusing to return. This is a crucial moment to build the GI resistance movement to push from within the military for a complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq and change our national priorities away from militarization.

As the the U.S. shifts its focus from the occupation of Iraq to Afghanistan, it is essential that we call into question the conception of Afghanistan as a "just war". The occupation of Afghanistan is just as illegal, traumatizing, and unnecessary as the occupation of Iraq. We must continue to support troops who are forced into active duty in Afghanistan; and most importantly, we must continue to support their acts of resistance.

Why GI Resistance? This campaign seeks to build power through GIs and veterans resisting the wars abroad. With civilian allies mobilized, a social movement kicked into action and infrastructure built, large scale resistance to militarism – including recruitment and foreign military bases – will be more feasible. Support of the military is one of the pillars that holds up a flawed and harmful system of funneling money into the military-industrial complex and away from important programs like health care, education and environmental stewardship. By weakening support for this war from within the military, neither the Republicans nor Democrats will be able to continue this war, and will be held more accountable the next time they try to lead us into an illegal and immoral war.

There is a major opportunity to build the GI Resistance movement in D.C., where there are a number of military bases as well as a large population of anti-war progressives and radicals who can make a real difference in this movement. So get educated, get involved and get active!